Upstream Debt May Put Pipelines Under PressureTwo such companies, Sabine Oil and Quicksilver, recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, arguing at bankruptcy court that they need to be relieved of their contracts with pipeline operators for shipping their oil and gas from the wellhead—a move that would leave the pipelines with no income, making it nearly impossible for them to stay afloat.

UK faces fresh spending cuts in BudgetBritain is facing a new round of spending cuts in next month's Budget, George Osborne has warned, following "new figures that show the economy is smaller than we thought".

How US Helps Al Qaeda in YemenThe Obama administration, eager to assuage Saudi Arabia's anger over the Iran nuclear deal and the failure to achieve "regime change" in Syria, has turned a blind eye to Riyadh's savaging of Yemen, even though that is helping Al Qaeda militants expand their territory.

Europe's leading armed forces are so hollowed out they are incapable of conducting major rapid-response operations, raising questions about NATO's overall readiness to respond to a more aggressive Russia, a study re-leased Friday by the Atlantic Council concludes.

World's Carbon Budget is Only Half As Big As ThoughtClimate scientists have bad news for governments, energy companies, motorists, passengers and citizens everywhere in the world: to contain global warming to the limits agreed by 195 nations in Paris last December, they will have to cut fossil fuel combustion at an even faster rate than anybody had predicted.

An attack such as this one has long been a nightmare scenario for top U.S. officials. National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command chief Adm. Michael Rogers has previously warned that it's not a matter of if, but when attackers will also target U.S. power systems.

The mountain of cash in Japan amounts to almost 100 trillion yen ($890 billion), equivalent to about a fifth of the size of the economy. And last year the number of 10,000-yen notes, the biggest bill, increased by 6.2 percent, the largest jump since 2002.

Now It's Even Worse Than it Was When Lehman Collapsed, But It's "Contained"The pile of toxic corporate bonds in the US, euphemistically called "distressed" debt, ballooned 15% in the single month of February to $327.8 billion, up 265% from a year ago, according to S&P Capital IQ. The number of S&P rated US companies with distressed debt rose 9% in February to 353, up 128% from a year ago.

China, Japan and other overseas central banks are leaving more of their dollars with the U.S. Federal Reserve as they have liquidated their U.S. Treasuries holdings to raise cash in an effort to stabilize their currencies, government data show.

Abe snubs Obama over Russia visitPrime Minister Shinzo Abe has snubbed an appeal by U.S. President Barack Obama, who asked that he not visit Russia in May, sources close to Japan-Russia relations said Tuesday.

Shell folds U.S. shale resources unit, says U.S. head to leaveRoyal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) said on Wednesday it will fold into other operations a unit dedicated to developing so-called unconventional resources, a term used by the industry to describe shale oil and gas, and that the unit's director and U.S. head Marvin Odum would leave the company.

The article doesn't say anything about the energy balance of the process. To be useful in sustaining industrial civilization, the resulting fuel must yield considerably more energy than the inputs. -- RF

The Morning Ledger: Tough Times for Energy DebtThe specter of corporate-bond defaults is rising in the energy sector. Tumbling oil prices have triggered a selloff in energy-sector debt, with about 44% of investment-grade bonds of oil-and-gas firms trading at junk levels as of Feb. 11.

U.S. banks to cut credit lines for energy firms: JP MorganCash-strapped energy firms are coming under increasing pressure from U.S. bank lenders and, on average, could see a 15 percent to 20 percent cut in their credit lines, the head of JP Morgan's (JPM.N) commercial bank told investors on Tuesday.

Renewed meltdown controversy threatens hoped-for reactor restartTokyo Electric Power's so-called discovery, nearly five years after the fact, that it in fact had a manual for identifying meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi casts further doubt on the utility's credibility as it tries to restart its workhorse nuclear power plant.

Japan eyes treating bitcoins the same as real moneyJapanese financial regulators have proposed handling virtual currencies as methods of payment equivalent to conventional currencies, a step that would strengthen consumer protection and spur growth in the virtual economy.

My guess is that this would be one of the first steps in the war on cash. -- RF

The figure for fiscal 2015, including enrollment fees and tuitions for the educational institutions as well as cram schools, was up ¥200,000 from the preceding year, an increase that is a blow to parents at a time when wages are not growing substantially.

"We have a very old structures, many building go back to the early days of the Cold War, go back to the Manhattan Project and need to be either replaced or significant work done to reduce the deferred maintenance."